Chapter 904: True Lord Nine Spirits’ Terms, and the Lu Ancestor’s Sacrifice

“All bones throughout the body turn into Imperishable Bones.”

Lu Changsheng thought of Bing’er’s crystal-clear bones, as if lined with Dao patterns, and gave a slight nod.

He knew Bing’er wouldn’t reach that step any time soon.

He continued to ask about corpse cultivation, raising corpses, and related methods.

Yan Wujiang answered everything without holding back, laying out the essence of his sect’s inheritance.

He even said that if Lu needed, he could send over the sect’s inheritance texts.

Such inheritance texts are usually the secret of every sect and never passed on.

But facing a Nascent Soul titan, a reincarnated powerhouse like Lu Changsheng, he didn’t hide a thing and offered them up.

“If I have questions later, I’ll ask you then, my friend.”

Lu Changsheng had no interest in corpse cultivation.

He was only asking because of Bing’er’s situation.

Now that he had a general grasp, he naturally wouldn’t waste time studying it further.

Besides, if he had doubts, he could just ask Yan Wujiang directly.

Why take someone else’s sect inheritance.

“If Master has questions about refining corpses, just ask me.”

Yan Wujiang said this, planning to review his sect’s texts once he returned.

Even as a Nascent Soul True Lord, he wouldn’t dare claim full mastery of every detail in the sect’s corpse-cultivation lore.

Much of it he’d only skimmed.

“All right, you’ve worked hard today, my friend.”

Lu Changsheng spoke and took out a fourth-rank spirit item from his storage ring as a reward.

If he called someone over to work, he would naturally offer some benefits.

Only then would the other party be willing to do things sincerely.

“Many thanks, Master.” Yan Wujiang didn’t refuse, cupped his hands to accept it, then took his leave.

“Did I forcefully interrupt Bing’er’s advancement?”

After Yan Wujiang left, Lu Changsheng looked at the crystal ice coffin by his side and murmured, “Is her closeness to me only because I was the first person she saw when she woke up?”

He had formed a rough judgment about Bing’er.

She was very likely a great cultivator whose lifespan was nearly spent or who had been grievously injured. Through a corpse-path inheritance, she sought life from death, slumbering in the Myriad Beasts Mountain Range to gain a new life and live again.

As for whether it was the “Corpse-Shedding Immortal” the Heavenly Corpse Sect Master spoke of, he wasn’t sure.

But he could confirm her cultivation and slumber had been disrupted by him.

However, based on the Heavenly Corpse Sect Master’s judgment, her cultivation art had likely already gone wrong, which birthed an infant-like consciousness named Bing’er.

Otherwise, if a corpse gained sentience, the consciousness born wouldn’t be as pure and spotless as Bing’er.

As for why Bing’er was close to him, the Heavenly Corpse Sect Master didn’t know.

He guessed it was because she saw Lu Changsheng first.

Or perhaps some trait on him drew her.

As for some “trait on him,” Lu could list a few.

Like the Chaos Body.

But when he first met Bing’er, he’d only just broken through Core Formation not long before. What rare trait could he have had then?

Lu Changsheng stopped thinking about it, put the crystal ice coffin back into the Heavenly Yuan Lotus, and went to find Ah Youduo to learn about the Gu path and Immortal Gu.

Afterwards!

Afterwards!

Afterwards!

Holding Ah Youduo, whose skin was soft and rosy, shifting from a young maiden to the blossom of **###**, into a mature beauty, then back to a young maiden again, Lu Changsheng asked her about the Gu path.

As a Nascent Soul True Lord on the path of poison and Gu, Ah Youduo had delved deep into the field.

She knew how to refine and raise Earthly Spirit Gu and Heavenly Spirit Gu and had the corresponding inheritance.

But how Heavenly Spirit Gu ascended to Immortal Gu, she wasn’t clear on and knew little about.

“Master, Gu advancement is extremely difficult, unlike demon beasts.”

Ah Youduo spoke with flushed cheeks and a faint pant to her breath.

Demonic beasts and spirit beasts can rapidly grow if they acquire natural treasures with a similar bloodline attribute, rare spirit fruits, or demon cores, raising their bloodline ceiling.

But Gu won’t.

You must explore and discover an advancement method tailored to that specific Gu before it can ascend.

There are some heavenly and earthly treasures that can directly raise a Gu’s grade.

But those resources are extremely rare, and most are for turning mortal Gu into spirit Gu or spirit Gu into profound spirit Gu and so on.

As for a Heavenly Spirit Gu directly ascending to Immortal Gu, Ah Youduo had never heard of it.

“Master, if you want to raise an Immortal Gu but don’t have an advancement method, you can gather resources that match its attributes and then feel your way through.”

Ah Youduo knew there was a Heavenly Spirit Gu inside Lu Changsheng and thought he wanted to raise it into an Immortal Gu.

She was very curious about the Peach Blossom Gu and was willing to help him study it.

“No rush, I’m just getting a handle on it,” Lu Changsheng said.

The Peach Blossom Gu in his sea of consciousness had already digested most of the Dao Seed Blushing Peach Blossom and was in a half-sleep.

Once it fully digested it, it would break through to fourth rank and gain a huge boost.

Whether it could ascend to Immortal Gu, Lu didn’t know, but he was looking forward to it.

After discussing the Gu path, Lu continued to discuss the Dao with Ah Youduo to help her cultivate.

She had already switched over to the Ten Thousand Calamities Toxic Spirit Codex, but her Nascent Soul quality lagged behind.

If she could raise her Nascent Soul to Earth Dao Nascent Soul soon, she’d have hope of reaching mid-Nascent Soul.

In front of outsiders she appeared as a young girl who ruled a sect with awe and authority, but when the Five Poisons Sect Leader discussed the Dao with Lu Changsheng, she gave in completely.

Not only obedient and accommodating, big or small, she even showed a shy tenderness at times, a charm none of Lu’s wives and concubines had.

He didn’t know how long had passed when Ah Youduo, breathing lightly with a flushed face, gently rubbed her slightly taut lower abdomen, her pink toes curling tight, and asked if he had a way to resolve the aftereffects of her secret technique.

Before, she submitted to Lu Changsheng partly out of circumstance.

Another reason was to obtain the Dragon Emperor Essence to baptize her Dao Foundation and take another step forward.

She had no thoughts of pregnancy or children.

But now that Lu had broken through to Nascent Soul, single-handedly ended the Liang-Yue War, and shook the Southern Desolation and Northern Region, she realized she couldn’t keep up with his rise.

Given time, she’d be left far behind.

More and more outstanding female cultivators would gather around him.

If she wanted to maintain and stabilize this relationship, she needed to deepen their bond.

And a child was the best way to do it.

From Lu Minghuang, Lu Jiangtang, and Qu Changtian, she could see that Lu valued his children.

If she bore a child with outstanding talent and raised them well, he wouldn’t mistreat mother and child.

“Give me the remnant of this secret art. I’ll study it when I have time.”

Looking at the petite, delicate Sect Leader of the Five Poisons, her beautiful eyes hazy with shyness, Lu Changsheng’s heart stirred. He realized she wanted a child.

Though the Lu Ancestor hadn’t sired any children these years,

he hadn’t forgotten his original intention. He remained passionate about making babies and very enthusiastic.

It’s just that business kept him busy, and with Nascent Soul cultivation and fourth-rank body refinement, it wasn’t like the early years when a bit of effort was enough to conceive.

Most female cultivators couldn’t even carry his bloodline.

Which made pregnancy far more difficult.

Ah Youduo’s initiative delighted him.

If she was willing to bear his child and to become the child’s mother, it showed a change of heart and complete submission in body and mind.

As a Nascent Soul cultivator with excellent talent and a top-tier Spirit Body, if she conceived she would likely bear a gifted child.

At his words, Ah Youduo immediately handed over the remnant manual of her cultivation method.

Lu skimmed it and didn’t rush into research.

He was well-read and commanded many top-tier arts.

But he’d gained them through a system inheritance, knowing the what and the why.

He couldn’t just glance over this remnant and pick out the core issue and a fix on the spot.

After a deep exchange, Lu asked Ah Youduo to return to the Five Poisons Sect and arrange personnel to head to Liang.

He would go to the Five Poisons Sect to find her in a few days.

After Ah Youduo left, Lu didn’t rush to cultivate the God-Devouring Technique. He patted his storage pouch.

An exquisite, graceful ancient furnace appeared, its silhouette like a goddess reclining.

Buzz!

The lid opened and a Nascent Soul Spirit Body bound tight by silver silk threads fell into Lu’s hand.

Next, another Nascent Soul Spirit Body appeared. It was crisscrossed by restriction light, wrapped in talismans, as if asleep.

They were the Nascent Soul Spirit Bodies of True Lord Nine Spirits and the Holy Maiden of Beast God Mountain.

“My friend Nine Spirits, have you decided?”

Lu looked at the bound Nine Spirits, whose spirit body was faint and weak, and spoke lightly.

True Lord Nine Spirits didn’t speak.

Yangming True Lord had promised that if he submitted, he could take the remaining sect members to rebuild Beast God Mountain and that he would spare the Holy Maiden.

But as the former overlord of Liang and its foremost cultivator, how could he submit to another.

Especially to Yangming True Lord, who was the prime culprit in Beast God Mountain’s fall.

Submitting to his enemy was a bitter pill he couldn’t swallow.

Lu knew Nine Spirits wouldn’t yield easily. He looked to the Holy Maiden, whose five senses were sealed.

“Eighteen Echoes of God-Devouring. Infinite Divine Resonance.”

Lu ran the God-Devouring Technique. The golden figure between his brows formed seals and let out a string of syllables, half chant half song, surging toward the Holy Maiden.

The Holy Maiden, who had sealed her six senses, trembled. In the depths of her soul, endless shouts, roars, moans, and howls rose, battering her mind.

She opened her eyes and looked at Lu Changsheng, knowing he’d used a soul secret art to shatter her lock.

But once she opened her eyes, she froze.

She saw a Nascent Soul Spirit Body bound by silver threads beside her.

Though it was weak and mummified like a bundled dumpling,

she recognized it at a glance as her ancestor — True Lord Nine Spirits.

“Ancestor!?” the Holy Maiden cried out.

She had sealed her senses to wait for her ancestor or the Demonic Mastermind to rescue or ransom her.

But what was this?

Her ancestor had also fallen into Yangming True Lord’s hands?

“Hmph, Yangming, you won’t fool me with illusions!”

The Holy Maiden gritted out, her tone hard. She thought it was fake, an illusion, that he had conjured her ancestor to shake her mind for interrogation.

As the Holy Maiden of Beast God Mountain, she knew many interrogation methods.

“Heh.”

Lu found her quite hard-headed.

He smiled and said to Nine Spirits, “Even if you won’t think for yourself, think for others.”

“As long as you submit to me, not only will I spare this woman, but your spirit pet, the Gold Mane Lion King, will also live.”

“If you perform well and render merit, I am even willing to spend natural treasures to nourish your Nascent Soul so you can return to your peak.”

The Lu Ancestor didn’t know the art of ruling men, but he was a master at painting big pies.

So he had no qualms about painting one for True Lord Nine Spirits.

Besides, if the man truly served with sincerity, what harm was there in granting a Nascent Soul-nourishing treasure in the future.

Nine Spirits hesitated.

As an old Nascent Soul and former overlord, he knew such promises were elusive and not to be trusted.

But just sparing the Holy Maiden and the Gold Mane Lion King and helping him rebuild Beast God Mountain moved him greatly.

Beast God Mountain was where he’d grown up and poured in blood and sweat. He didn’t want to see it erased.

And having finally reached Nascent Soul, who would accept death so easily.

If he fell, could the bloodline descendants and elite he’d sent away rebuild Beast God Mountain without being eaten by Yuan Kingdom forces.

“This isn’t an illusion?”

Seeing Lu ignore her and speak with her ancestor, the Holy Maiden sensed something was off.

She didn’t feel the disturbance of an illusion.

She had only just broken through to Nascent Soul, but could he really craft such a flawless illusion? That would rival a heart demon tribulation.

“No, this must be fake!”

She clung to it, unwilling to believe her ancestor had fallen to Yangming True Lord.

And from Lu’s words, even the Gold Mane Lion King had been captured.

Impossible.

The Gold Mane was their strongest beast. Its strength was only slightly beneath her ancestor.

If her ancestor and the Gold Mane Lion King used their union secret art, they could briefly resist a mid-Nascent Soul titan.

“You can name terms as well.”

Lu spoke to Nine Spirits, hoping to bring the Liang overlord under his control.

With him, accepting Liang’s forces or dealing with other matters would become much easier.

After a long silence, Nine Spirits looked at Lu and said weakly, “I have one condition. If you agree, I will submit and return to your banner.”

“What condition?” Lu asked.

“From what I know, you have several children, which means you don’t mind having heirs.”

Nine Spirits said, “My condition is this: you must have a child with the Holy Maiden and hand one child over to Beast God Mountain to raise.”

He had no real hope for the promise of restoring his peak.

His reason to cling to life was not to abandon Beast God Mountain and his bloodline inheritance.

But he faced several problems.

If he submitted to Yangming True Lord, what of the elites and descendants who went with True Lord Yunmei to Yuan Kingdom.

What if, once his potential ran out, Yangming turned on him.

Remembering that Lu had promised the Holy Maiden the status of concubine, Nine Spirits thought of this solution.

Let Yangming True Lord and the Holy Maiden bear children.

Even a tiger won’t eat its cubs.

As long as they had several children and one inherited Beast God Mountain, his inheritance would be safe.

He figured the man wouldn’t butcher the ox after it plowed the field.

He might even further support Beast God Mountain.

As for handing his foundation to an outsider, Nine Spirits didn’t see it that way.

First, that child would carry both bloodlines.

Second, inheriting Beast God Mountain didn’t mean giving his life’s work away.

What he wanted was for Beast God Mountain to continue and grow stronger.

Just as he’d once favored the Flood Dragon Holy Son as heir.

“You go too far!”

Lu’s face darkened.

He was negotiating in earnest, yet Nine Spirits dared to use his children as a bargaining chip.

Though the Lu Ancestor was willing to sacrifice himself for family and the greater good,

what did this man take him for.

“Hm?” The Holy Maiden blinked at the words.

She looked at her ancestor in shock.

The next instant, she glared at Lu with venom.

She thought he was shameless, using this illusion scene to humiliate her.

“This is my only condition. If you and the Holy Maiden bear a child, I will submit at once.”

“And I will devote my heart to raising that child, never shaming your bloodline.”

Nine Spirits, weak and drained, spoke sincerely.

He had no other demands.

He only hoped to preserve Beast God Mountain and revive it with this tie to Yangming True Lord.

As for avenging himself on Mo Luo and the rest, he no longer held hope.

Lu Changsheng stared at Nine Spirits.

The latter met his gaze head-on.

After a moment, Lu said, “Fine. I agree. But this still depends on the willingness of the junior.”

“I never force those who don’t consent.”

For family and the greater good, Lu chose to sacrifice and agreed to have a child with the Holy Maiden in exchange for Nine Spirits’ submission.

Nine Spirits brightened and said at once, “Rest easy, True Lord.”

He then looked at the Holy Maiden, wrapped in restriction light and talismans, and called, “Holy Maiden.”

“Ancestor.”

The Holy Maiden had heard their whole exchange and knew something was wrong.

She just didn’t want to believe her ancestor had fallen to Yangming True Lord.

“This is no illusion. Beast God Mountain has fallen.”

Nine Spirits looked at his most promising junior and sighed.

The Holy Maiden bit her lip and struggled, but the restriction light on her was like chains, suppressing her Nascent Soul power.

Fourth-tier talismans wrapped her body and bound her Nascent Soul Spirit Body, keeping her from breaking free.

Nine Spirits sighed again, knowing she couldn’t accept it yet.

It was too shocking.

He couldn’t use his Nascent Soul power to speak with her mind to mind, nor could he display Beast God Mountain’s secrets to prove himself, so he asked Lu to give them time to talk.

Lu nodded, urged the Divine Maiden’s Furnace, and sent them both into it so they could speak alone.

Half an hour later, Nine Spirits and the Holy Maiden finished.

She had accepted reality.

She learned that during the days she sealed her six senses, the Liang-Yue War ended and Beast God Mountain was broken.

True Lord Tiancang was captured and his body and Qi destroyed.

The Flood Dragon Holy Son had died utterly, soul scattered.

True Lord Incinerating Wither chose to submit.

As for True Lord Yunmei, Nine Spirits wasn’t sure but guessed she likely fled to Yuan Kingdom.

After the ambush of True Lord Qianren, True Lord Yunmei and True Lord Nightmare Eye withdrew and likely escaped the blockade.

As for the Demonic Mastermind they relied on as a last trump card, he retreated without fighting when he saw Yangming True Lord.

The Holy Maiden felt heavy-hearted. The hope of reviving Beast God Mountain now rested on her.

As its Holy Maiden and Nine Spirits’ descendant, she had deep ties to it.

She was willing to make sacrifices.

Before, she’d obeyed Nine Spirits and agreed to marry the Flood Dragon Holy Son.

Now it was just a different man.

The only difference was that with the Flood Dragon Holy Son she would have taken the lead.

With Yangming True Lord, she would only be a concubine.

Concubine, what a bitter word.

In the past, with her pride as Fang Qingyou, she would never have agreed.

But now was different. She was a captive and a prisoner.

Their mountain gate had been broken.

She could choose death over submission.

But besides herself she carried her ancestor’s expectation and the mission to revive Beast God Mountain.

And being a concubine depended on who the man was.

She would never be concubine to someone like the Flood Dragon Holy Son.

But for the man who ended the Liang-Yue War alone, captured many Nascent Souls, and stood as a mid-Nascent Soul titan, it was not so hard to accept.

Seeing her agree, Lu nodded. “From now on, you’ll be my concubine.”

He lifted a hand, tore off the fourth-tier sealing talisman on her Nascent Soul, and let it return to her body.

He then released her physical body from the Divine Maiden’s Furnace.

Seeing her body, the Holy Maiden’s face went cold as frost, brimming with shame and anger.

But she still obediently returned to it.

Her Nascent Soul had been separated for too long. It would take time to fully activate.

Lu looked at the tall, sinuous beauty brimming with wild strength, wearing only a bandeau and short skirt. He felt a little awkward.

When True Lord Tiancang, the Flood Dragon Holy Son, and True Lord Incinerating Wither attacked, he’d suspected a trick and had made some changes to her body.

He had fastened an Animal-Control Collar taken from her storage ring around her swan-like neck and bound her wrists and ankles with chains.

After the battle, he’d tossed her body into the Divine Maiden’s Furnace.

He hadn’t removed the collar and chains.

Now that her Nascent Soul had returned, the Lu Ancestor was a bit embarrassed.

He worried she’d think he had some kink, which would ruin his noble image.

Moments later, the Holy Maiden’s power surged. Her skin gleamed with faint eerie light as she opened her eyes.

She was as tall as Lu Changsheng.

Her long pale-violet hair flowed thick and free, drifting back without wind.

As her body awakened, the doll-like shell seemed to gain a soul and revealed a striking wild beauty.

Even Lu had to admit she was stunning.

Her cold, sharp features were fierce and seductive, made even more so by the animal collar on her neck.

Clank—

Lu lifted a hand and took hold of the chain attached to the collar.

Since he’d already been misunderstood and his noble image dented, he didn’t care anymore.

Besides, what did Yangming True Lord’s shamelessness have to do with the Lu Ancestor.

The Holy Maiden’s wild face flushed red as her body trembled beyond her control.

Those long powerful legs of hers wanted to lash out at Lu.

As Fang Qingyou, she’d never suffered such humiliation.

But remembering her ancestor’s words,

and the hope of reviving Beast God Mountain resting on her, she forced down her shame and anger.

She treated it as a trial.

Clank—

As Lu tugged the chain, the Holy Maiden felt utterly humiliated and without dignity.

But the Lu Ancestor pitied beauty and didn’t truly treat her like a bitch to be broken.

Moments later, he began working for Nine Spirits’ submission.

Only if the Holy Maiden carried his child would Nine Spirits fully submit.

In the cave residence,

the clatter of chains rang on and on.

A figure with **###**, clean sharp lines, a narrow waist and wide hips, and long jade legs swayed with a graceful rhythm.

After who knew how long, those smooth **###** bent to kneel, her rounded hips and slim back and waist joining in a winding tempting arc.

“Holy Maiden, it’s your first time. Rest and recover well.”

Lu supported her limp body and spoke softly.

“If Master is not satisfied, you can continue. I can bear it.”

Her face glowed rosy as she bit out the words. Damp pale-violet hair hung over her cheeks, her white shoulders holding a heartbreaking beauty.

But as the words left her mouth, she let out a muffled groan, brow furrowed, shame and grief in her heart. She hadn’t expected Lu’s body to be so far beyond hers.

She was a Nascent Soul cultivator with a top third-rank body refinement.

Even for a first time, it shouldn’t have left her so helpless.

But as the Holy Maiden of Beast God Mountain, she had a firm will and had experienced many trials. She was stubborn.

Yet the Lu Ancestor specialized in breaking stubbornness.

A quarter-hour later, the Holy Maiden wept and begged for mercy.

Lu gave her a pill, then circulated her Qi to move blood, healing bruises and swelling.

Days later, mindful that he needed to cultivate the second layer of the God-Devouring Technique and had much to do,

Lu condensed a God-Devouring Seed and planted it in the Holy Maiden’s sea of consciousness.

He sent her with the Five Poisons Sect and Heavenly Corpse Sect cultivators to Liang to handle the prisoners.

He wanted her to conceive soon.

But at the Nascent Soul level, conceiving was far too difficult.

Effort, secret techniques, and natural treasures that boosted the chance of pregnancy were all necessary.

He planned to have Ah Youduo refine a few fertility Gu, then prepare pills that raised the odds before trying again.

“Yes.” The Holy Maiden left the cave with legs that still trembled.

Seeing she was in the Yin Ghost Sect, her eyes went blank.

Back then, True Lord Mingsha had broken through to Nascent Soul thanks in no small part to Beast God Mountain.

Relying on that tie, Beast God Mountain launched the Liang-Yue War.

But now it had ended in defeat. Beast God Mountain was broken, and the former Yin Ghost Sect had changed hands.

And the source of it all was her current Master — the Lord of Dameng City, Yangming True Lord.

After sending messages to Ah Youduo and the Heavenly Corpse Sect Master, Lu let the Holy Maiden lead people to Liang.

He felt very assured about her.

First, Nine Spirits and her life-bound spirit beast the Heavenly Wolf were still in his hands, so he didn’t fear her running.

Second, the God-Devouring Seed from the first layer was very domineering.

At the first layer, he could condense at most three seeds.

They didn’t just parasitize and draw off spiritual thought. They could also serve as a restriction with a bit of monitoring.

If the Holy Maiden did anything, he could injure her through the seed and find her at once.

Third, besides the seed, he had her Soul Lamp from Nine Spirits’ storage ring.

Through the Soul Lamp, he could divine her condition and whereabouts.

With these measures, he had no worry she’d run.

After he finished his instructions, Lu condensed a second God-Devouring Seed and planted it in the Ghost Tree to help him cultivate.

“Though the first layer lets me condense three seeds, making several in a short time still puts a load on me.”

After forming the second seed, Lu felt a wave of fatigue.

He could feel his monitoring of the Holy Maiden lessen a bit.

He took a soul-nourishing pill, sat cross-legged, and began cultivating the second layer of the God-Devouring Technique.

He called Meng Xiaochan and told her that if there were celestial phenomena again, she should run the grand array with full force to muffle them.

Meng Xiaochan was surprised. Her husband had just caused a commotion with a secret art.

How was he immediately cultivating another loud one.

Was there no need to comprehend it first.

“As expected of my husband!” Meng Xiaochan’s eyes shone with worship. She didn’t ask much and stayed to guard him as he cultivated.

At the same time, in Yuan Kingdom,

True Lord Yunmei received a message from True Lord Nightmare Eye that True Lord Heavenly Eye had left seclusion and called a meeting, so she went at once.

Earlier, she and True Lord Nightmare Eye had led the elites of the Barebody Sect and Beast God Mountain and retreated safely to Yuan.

Per the agreement, after the Barebody Sect moved to Yuan, they could occupy a fourth-rank spiritual vein in Qiyun Kingdom.

But there had been a condition — True Lord Nine Spirits needed to deeply probe Yangming True Lord’s strength.

Now Beast God Mountain was broken and Nine Spirits missing, presumed dead.

The Yuan factions split over the Barebody Sect’s relocation.

They didn’t want to hand over a fourth-rank spiritual land for nothing.

True Lord Nightmare Eye had stood with True Lord Yunmei through hardship, so they reported to their own True Lord Heavenly Eye.

As long as this mid-Nascent Soul True Lord nodded, he could suppress the dissent from other factions.